Tusculum hosts Tampa in men's soccer semifinals

The fifth-ranked Tusculum College men's soccer team (20-2-1) has advanced to the NCAA Division II National Quarterfinals for the second time in program history, and will battle the No. 11 University of Tampa Spartans (17-3-1) for the right to compete for the school's first national championship. Tusculum and Tampa will meet for the first time in NCAA II play this Sunday at 2 p.m. at Pioneer Field, where the Pioneers are 12-1 this season.

The match will feature two of the top defensive teams in the nation, as both sides have held opposing offenses to under one goal per contest.

Tusculum

The Pioneers have put together the most successful season in program history with a school-record 20 wins after shutting out No. 13 Lees-McRae 2-0 in the Southeast Region Final on Sunday. Tusculum began the year with a five-match winning streak, recording four shutouts and outscoring its opponents by a 14-1 margin in that span. Following a 6-1 loss to Lincoln Memorial in TC's South Atlantic Conference opener, the Pioneers responded by posting an 8-0-1 mark over their next nine matches, including shutouts of conference foes Brevard, Wingate, Carson-Newman, and Catawba.

Tusculum entered an Oct. 25 matchup with the University of Montevallo with a 13-1-1 overall record, and in possession of the fifth spot in the NSCAA national rankings. The Pioneers, trailing 3-0 in the 55th minute, battled back to cut the lead to 3-2 with just under 14 minutes remaining before Montevallo scored for the fourth time in the match to claim the victory.

The Pioneers put the road loss behind them, and proceeded to win their next seven matches to capture the South Atlantic Conference regular season title and the Food Lion SAC Tournament crown, as well as the program's second region championship.

Bruno Conceicão, this season's SAC Men's Soccer Player of the Year and Daktronics Southeast Region Player of the Year, has carried the Pioneers for much of the season with an NCAA II-leading 58 points to date. A native of Valenca, Bahia, Conceicão has scored 23 goals in 22 matches for TC this season, becoming the third player in program history to record 20 or more goals in two campaigns with the Pioneers. The 5-10, 160-pound forward has amassed the seven-highest goal and point totals in school history in just two seasons with 44 goals and 104 points in his career thus far.

A trio of midfielders have made a significant impact for the black and orange this season, as Scott Lucky, Anteneh Lemma, and 2007 SAC Freshman of the Year Lucas Paulini have combined for 20 goals and 33 assists through 23 matches this year. Lemma has emerged as one of TC's primary scoring threats, setting new career highs in goals (14), assists (9) and points (37). Paulini has picked up his play recently as the sophomore half back has recorded at least one point in five or his last six matches. Lucky currently ranks among the top 10 in the nation with 13 helpers, and is fourth on the team with four goals.

Junior goalkeeper Lance Moore has rewritten much of the TC record book this fall, setting a new single-season mark with 12 clean sheets, including four shutouts in conference play. A native of Morristown, Tenn., Moore has allowed three or more goals in just three matches this year, and has held ranked teams to two goals in five matches. The 6-2, 185-pound netminder has also moved into first all-time at Tusculum with 18 career shutouts and a 1.23 goals against average in 45 matches.

Tampa

Head Coach Adrian Bush has guided the Spartans back to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row in search of the program's fourth national championship. The Spartans began the season as the 14th ranked team in the nation, and the favorite to capture the Sunshine State Conference title. Tampa got off to a strong start in 2008, posting a 4-0-1 record in its first five matches before falling to SSC foe Saint Leo 3-1 in the conference opener.

The Spartans responded with a pair of wins over No. 18 West Florida and Nova Southeastern to enter the Oct. 1 matchup with top-ranked Lynn University at 6-1-1. Lynn emerged from the contest with a 4-1 victory on its home pitch, dropping Tampa to 1-2 in conference play. The Spartans would not lose another match until the final of the SSC Tournament, where they went up against Lynn for the second time this season with the conference tournament title on the line. The second-ranked Fighting Knights scored three times in the first 51 minutes of the match to coast to a 4-0 win, outshooting the Spartans 9-7.

Tampa earned another chance to dethrone the Fighting Knights with a 1-0 win over Montevallo in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the championship match of the South Regional in Boca Raton this past weekend. The Spartans took any early 2-0 lead in the first 14 minutes of the match, going into the break with a 3-0 advantage over the top-ranked Fighting Knights. Lynn showed the Spartans why it was the most potent offense in the nation this season, as the Fighting Knights scored two goals in the opening 15 minutes of the second half to cut the lead to 3-2. Tampa was able to hold off the nation's most potent offense this season in the final 30 minutes to advance to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the national championship campaign of 2001.

Junior forward Pascal Milien has led the Spartans in nearly every offensive category this season, entering Sunday's matchup as the NCAA II leader with 16 assists through 21 matches. A native of Auburndale, Fla., Milien also leads the red, black and gold with 11 goals this year, and is the only Spartan with more than 10 goals in 2008.

Senior midfielder Ryan Maxwell and sophomore forward Lister Warren have each found the back of the net nine times for the Spartans this season, as Tampa has posted the third-best scoring average in the nation with 3.14 goals per match. Dan Ingvarsson and Greg Sasser have also scored five or more goals this season for the Spartans with six and five, respectively.

Goalkeeper Ryan Thompson has proven himself to be one of the premier netminders in NCAA Division II this season, as the 6-1, 200-pound junior has held the opposition to a 0.99 goals against average with eight shutouts. A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Thompson has moved into eighth all-time at Tampa with 10 career shutouts, and his 1.25 career goals against average ranks sixth in program history.

The Match

Ticket prices are $4 for adults and $2 for students with a valid ID and children ages 12 and under. Tusculum College students will be admitted free, but must have a valid Tusculum ID to be admitted. The Tusculum Athletic Department will be purchasing tickets for all TC students who wish to attend.